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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. bound — tied together
  3. hand — help
  4. hand — in cards
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. bound — certain
  7. content — happy
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. bound — obliged
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. chest — of your body
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. chest — a box
  17. plane — a tool
  18. chest — of your body

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com